ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College field hockey team returned to the turf at Higgins Stadium one final time in the 2018 when the Bombers faced Alvernia University in the Quarterfinal Round of the 2018 ECAC Division III Field Hockey Championships on Wednesday evening. Behind sophomore midfielder Arleigh Rodgers first goal of the season, the Bombers downed the Golden Wolves 2-1 to continue its postseason run into the weekend. With the victory, IC improved to 13-6 on the year, equaling the 2015 team for the most wins in a season since the turn of the century.
 
Headlining the stat sheet for IC was a pair of early half strikes, as the Bombers scored once in each half and sealed the contest with strong defense and goaltending down the stretch. Sophomore striker Kristen Rafferty got the Bombers on the board with the first goal of the day, tapping home her seventh goal of the season. Rodgers added the second-half tally that ended up standing up as the game-winner 3:12 into the second half of play. Adding assists on the day for IC were sophomore striker Natalie Milliken and senior striker Meg Dowd.
 
Defensively, the Bombers were their rock-solid selves against one of the most talented teams in the Mid-Atlantic Region. Junior keeper Savanna Lenker, named All-Liberty League First Team earlier in the day, showcased why she was honored as the Liberty League's top goalie with one of her finest outings of the year. She stopped seven shots, only conceding on a first-half penalty stroke for Alvernia's lone goal. The performance helped her improve to 13-6 on the year. Adding a defensive save on the day was senior back Kaylou Stoddard, which factored in large with Alvernia pushing for a second-half equalizer.
 
IC did not hold back in the early portion of the contest, quickly asserting themselves in the game. The Bombers held early territorial advantage, racking up three early penalty corner opportunities in the first five minutes. Although IC was not able to create a genuine scoring threat during the early flurry, it set the tone for what would blossom into an early lead just a few minutes later.
 
Ithaca gained liftoff 14:42 into the contest on Rafferty's score. It was a phenomenal piece of execution on the penalty corner in a play that utilized the entire zone and came full circle. Rafferty began the sequence with the insert and made a cut towards the left post. Senior back Kimmy Briscoe shuffled possession to senior midfielder Maddie Ryan who carried the ball around the right side of the arc, before moving it down low. Senior midfielder Emily Vallee made a great play to stick-handle past a defender and work a reverse-chip pass to Milliken, who was camped on the near-side post. The sophomore calmly settled the ball, before whipping a pass across the crease to Rafferty for the easy tap-in on the backdoor play.
 
The despite the early dominance, Alvernia would respond with an equalizer less than 10-minutes later. With Rafferty sent off for a green card foul, the Golden Wolves took advantage of the opportunity with some possession in the high-danger area of IC's defensive zone. In what looked like a goal-scoring opportunity, Morgan Mondschein was hauled down inside the arc and the official awarded a penalty stroke chance. Brianna Buckley made no mistakes with the opportunity, whipping a nasty wrister into the left corner, as Lenker sprawled the opposite direction.
 
Ithaca had one final chance to pull back ahead right before the half. Rafferty was denied a golden scoring chance, but the Bombers would earn a final penalty corner chance with time expired. The chance was a near-miss for IC, as junior Kendall Keil drifted a hard shot just wide of the left post.
 
Ithaca did not wait long to get back on the front foot coming out of the break, immediately establishing a foothold in the Alvernia third of the field. It was a quick-strike tic-tac-toe passing play to put the Bombers back on top just over three-minutes into the game. Maddy Ryan started the play with a nice pass from midfield into the attacking arc. Dowd made an excellent play to stop the ball, make a turn, and whip a pass to Rodgers in the slot. The sophomore was right on cue, one-timing a hard shot before Alvernia keeper Emma Beamesderfer could charge out to cut down the angle. The goal lifted IC back into the 2-1 lead.
 
With the lead restored, Ithaca turned to its strong defense and keeping to see out the victory. Lenker made six of her seven saves down the stretch, while Stoddard made her big defensive save with just 2:22 left in regulation.
 
Ithaca will return to action this coming Saturday, November 10, when they hit the road to a host site still to be determined. The Bombers will face the winner of top-seeded Arcadia and fourth-seed Wilson in the Pod 2 half of the ECAC Championship Semifinal. All three other Quarterfinal Round contests are set to get underway at 7:00 p.m. this evening. Stay tuned to the IC Athletics Website for more information as it develops.